Montana Marijuana, Microaggressions, and Manuscripts #IWSG

Happy Insecure Writers Support Group, started by Alex J Cavanaugh!

I’m in Montana for a psychology conference. learning some cool things. Too bad I dislike skiing because we have major snow in Big Sky.

But I’ve had a blast chatting with friends and learning stuff! The best presentation so far has been about MARIJUANA. As a psychologist who has witnessed the sadness of addiction, I was against legalization before the presentation. Now I’m totally against it.

While you might think this brownie, candy, and beverage are for the munchies after you toke it up, these “edibles” are actually how THC is administered these days. One gummy bear has 4 servings of high potency THC. They’re marketing to kids by infusing candy and drinks with THC.

And, this isn’t your grandparent’s pot, your parents’ pot, or even your pot. In 1960 THC was .2% concentration. Now it’s 12%. Since it’s been commercialized in Colorado, the lobbyists and marketing machine has created products with 36% THC which have zero resemblance to the natural hemp plant. (The CBD percentage has stayed the same, rendering today’s marijuana as less medicinal.) One 19 year old Wyoming student went to Colorado, had never had pot before, ate a cookie with high potency THC, had a psychotic break, and jumped out a window to his death.

Whatever your beliefs, decriminalization is not the same as legalization. The change in law is all about making money and not about decriminalization or health at all. Using marijuana before the age of 18 really increases risk of addiction and cognitive deficits: one study in New Zealand found an EIGHT point drop in IQ from using marijuana 5 times a week.

What are your thoughts about marijuana?

Another great presentation was on MICROAGGRESSIONS, or unintended discrimination. We all make comments, often without our awareness, that may be hurtful. For example, a heterosexual person may tell a homosexual person “I don’t care what you do, just don’t flaunt your sexuality.” That comment may be hurtful by implying a gay person is hyper-sexual or some other such stereotype. Should we tell a heterosexual couple to stop kissing and “flaunting their heterosexuality”?

This video highlights some micro aggressions:

Finally, how’s your writing coming along? I was about 20K words into a romantic suspense when I realized I was itching to write book two in my college volleyball romance series, so I just started that MANUSCRIPT. I’m titling it Aced for now.

I think I’ll put my romantic suspense Twin Sacrifice aside though I kind of miss it. Anyone write two books at once? I’ve never tried before.

My critique partner Nicki Elson’s awesome rom-com VIBRIZZIO is available for pre-order! You will love this story and it’s only $.99.

Write on, my fellow crusaders!

4 thoughts on “Montana Marijuana, Microaggressions, and Manuscripts #IWSG”

I'm completely against legalizing it. No matter what, it damages your brain. That they are putting it in kids' candy is scary.

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Why do they have to go and ruin perfectly good pot? I always thought the nice thing about marijuana was that it was a gentle, mellow high – far less violence-inducing than alcohol. I had NO idea it was being bastardized in this way. Once again I'm thanking the Lord that my teenaged children have better heads on their shoulders than I did at that age. The drug world is just so much scarier now than it was back then.I totally believe that consistent weed smoking lowers IQ. The people I know who've smoked on a daily basis defintitely talk and process at a slower pace.

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P.S. Thanks for the shout out, best crit partner eveeer. 🙂

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Even the \”old\” mellow stuff hollowed out ambition and perception. It is sad what we are doing to ourselves, criminal what we are setting up our children to experience.Money rules though. I loved the vid on how thoughtlessly cruel humanity can be and think itself \”tolerant.\”Go with your instinct on what you are writing. Your writing will be alive on a story that possesses you. Best of sales. Enjoy the ski lodge with unbroken limbs! 🙂

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